Indonesian investors mull expansion of oil palm
plantation, processing plant in Agsur
By David M. Suyao
AGUSAN DEL SUR, Oct. 17 (PIA) - Seven members of
the Indonesian investment team from two Indonesian government owned and
controlled companies named PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) and Pertamina paid
visit here for an investment mission particularly to expand Indonesia’s oil
palm industry in the Philippines, utilizing idle lands in the hinterlands in
order that they become productive.
According to PTPN Director for Planning and
Development Memed Wiraminardja, the team has four purposes in coming to the
province and these are "to get information and discuss with Philippines’
interested party and procedure of land acquisition for oil palm plantation;
looking for prospective creation of the plantation, transport and
communications, infrastructure, extension plantation, shape of the region,
climate, etc.; knowing the
administrative data such as administration demographic data, availability of
labor, level of education of the population, public facilities, social
amenities, religion and culture and; the peace and order situation, economic
situation and the like."
According to Alma Argayoso, Philippine Attache
to Jakata, Indonesia, this move of the Indonesian government is one of the
products of President Benigno S. Aquino’s attendance to APEC summit when he
offered the potential investment areas of the country in order to bring in
investment for agriculture and tourism which mean benefit for people living in
far flung areas.
“For all you know, Caraga Region is a very
potential area of plantation all over the country having 384,000 hectares of
land to offer. These two companies therefore is planning to acquire 30,000
hectares next year and 30,000 hectares thereafter for another 10 years. To
date, Agusan del Sur has only 20,000 planted with oil palm,” Argayoso said.
Vice Governor Santiago Cane who welcomed the
Indonesian team also expressed his delight of the investment plan, saying
investment is the spark plug of development in the province.
“In fact, we in Agusan del Sur have legislated
an Investment Code where I authored way back in 1998 during my first term as
member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan. We have done this because we are
protective of the investments here in Agusan del Sur while protecting our
environment. We are doing this in order to fully observe and implement the laws
in order to maintain ecological balance and to align it to investment,” Vice
Gov. Cane said.
The Indonesian investment team will be staying
here until October 18 in order to actually visit the areas with the assistance
of the local government officials. (DMS/PIA-Agusan del Sur)
GIZ, LGUs ink MOA for flood warning project in
Sursur
By Nida Grace P. Barcena
TANDAG CITY, Oct. 17 (PIA) - The provincial
government of Surigao del Sur and municipal governments of San Miguel and Tago
on Monday entered into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Deutsche
Gesellschaft Fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) for a flood warning
project along Tago river stretching in two towns of this province.
Present during the MOA signing were Surigao del
Sur Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (PDRRMC) chairperson
Gov. Johnny Pimentel, Tago mayor Rogelio Pimentel, LGU San Miguel
representative and GIZ representative.
The establishment of LFEWS device started last
June this year with a project presentation to the provincial government and
municipal local government units of San Miguel and Tago thru the local Disaster
Risk Reduction Management Council (DRRMC.) A stakeholders orientation and
planning workshop was also conducted. Site survey for the device installation
was also done after the planning workshop in coordination with the stakeholders
and the LGUs.
As of this time, the construction system device
of LFEWS is set to be completed before the year-end said Dr. Walter Salzer GIZ
Program Director.
The establishment of the LFEWS is very timely as
the towns of San Miguel and Tago were both identified as flood-prone areas
according to Gov. Pimentel. (NGPB/PIA-Surigao del Sur)
Surigao City intensifies National Greening
Program
By Annette Villaces
SURIGAO CITY, Oct. 17 (PIA) – The City
Agricultre Office (CAO) and the City Environment and Natural Resources Office
(City ENRO) here will spearhead the planting of bamboo trees in the 12
barangays of the city.
According to CAO Project Focal Person Ramon
Laid, the said activity is under the National Greening Program of the
government mandated under Executive Order No. 26 issued by President Benigno
Simeon Aquino III on February 24, 2011. It seeks to plant some 1.5 billion
trees covering 1.5 million hectares for a period of six years from 2011 to
2016, inlands of the public domain.
Laid said under the program, bamboo trees will
be planted in 12 barangays of the city, namely: Luna, Bonifacio, Quezon,
Trinidad, Anomar, Mabini, Mat-I, Rizal, Poctoy, San Roque, Serna and Togbongon.
He also said that an information drive was
already undertaken by the City ENRO and City Agriculture together with
representatives from different barangay councils, land-owners and farmers.
The barangay officials of the 12 barangays will
coordinate with the different schools and socio-civic organizations under their
jurisdiction for the conduct of tree planting before the end of this month.
(SDR/Surigao City PIO/PIA-Surigao del Norte)
DTI-Agusan del Sur to award engineered-bamboo
processing equipment to SAFRAADAP
By PD Lolita I. Dorado, Irene L. Macheca, Marson Jan S. Dolendo
AGUSAN DEL SUR, Oct. 17 (PIA) - The Department of Trade and Industry-Agusan
del Sur Provincial Office (DTI-ADS) is set to award 2.8 million pesos worth of
engineered-bamboo processing and manufacturing equipment to the San Francisco
Association of Differently Abled Person (SAFRAADAP) Multi-Purpose Cooperative.
The awarding of the said set of equipment is
part of the agency’s Shared Service Facility (SSF) program which provides
processing equipment or machineries needed by the various industry clusters to
increase their productivity. A cooperator
or partner organization (in this case SAFRAADAP) will receive and manage
the operation of the facility for the common or shared use of members and other
micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the locality for a minimal fee.
The introduction of engineered bamboo offers a
new hope to thisfurniture-making cooperative and other producers dependent on
wood who were affected and threatened with the declaration of EO 23 that put
the whole country into total log ban.
With SAFRAADAP management’s quest for
alternatives, the members willingly embraced this new opportunity on bamboo.
In response, DTI-ADS facilitated the conduct of
Skills Training on Engineered Bamboo Manufacturing last July 15-17, 2013
attended by 20 participants from SAFRAADAP.
Experts from the DTI-Cottage Industry Technology Center (DTI-CITC)
taught participants to produce quality bamboo planks for furniture production,
floor tiles, door panels and other construction materials.
This was followed by a Business Opportunity
Seminar with Mr. Eduardo Manda of the Philippine Bamboo Foundation as the
resource speaker last July 25 and 26.
The seminar presented the economic benefits of propagating bamboo as a
source of materials for furniture and construction-related products. It also
highlighted the need for community involvement for bamboo propagation.
Manda also pointed out that bamboo is the
logical choice as a possible substitute to timber. It is reportedly the most sustainable
resource because of its ability to reproduce regularly throughout the year. Bamboo which is classified as a grass is also
recognized for its role in combating climate change and in conserving soil and
water.
One hectare of bamboo is expected to yield 1,200
matured poles per year. These poles can
be sold at 50 to 100 pesos each, and when processed into bamboo slats, these
can be sold at triple the price thus giving more income to the bamboo growers.
DTI’s SSF project, on the other hand is open to
all cooperators or any juridical entities not limited to NGOs, people’s
organizations, cooperatives, industry/trade/business associations and academic
institutions that are supporting MSMEs belonging to an identified industry
cluster. (DTI-Caraga/PIA-Caraga)
